1. Field of the Invention.
The invention in general relates to tourniquets of the type which are wrapped around a body member and are inflated to provide pressure for controlling blood flow.
2. Description of the Prior Art.
U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,504,675 issued to W. A. Bishop, Jr. and 3,670,735 issued to Lewis F. Hazlewood are examples of known inflatable tourniquets. Both of these tourniquets are disposable, as is the particular embodiment of a tourniquet which shall be described in the present application.
The prior art tourniquets have been known to produce irregular pressures over the surface of the tourniquets which are applied to the limbs. In particular, the prior art tourniquets often produce greater pressures at the side of the tourniquet that is nearest the distal end of the limb to which is it applied than on the side of the tourniquet which is nearest the proximal end of the limb to which it is applied. Herein, proximal means the end closest to the trunk of the body and distal means the side closest to the end of the limb.
Another disadvantage of prior art tourniquets is that application of the tourniquets to the limb is hindered by the fact that these tourniquets sometimes do not conform well to the shape of the limb to which they are applied.
Other problems that have occurred with prior art tourniquets are stretching or growth of a tourniquet cuff during inflation, and ballooning or the rubber-band effect which cause concentrated pressures at the center of the cuff to limb interface, and which can result in excessive cuff inflation times.